Flush tank valve



' llg- 20, 1957 w. J. SHELLENBERGER 2,803,262

FLUSH TANK VALVE Filed April 1.7, 1956 2 Sheets-Shoe?I 2 Fig. 2

L "v "vu )4/ Y INVENTOR BY I *M5-m FLUSH TANK VALVE Walter I. Shellenberger, Fort Stockton, Tex., assigner of one-half to Cecil V. Patterson, Fort Stockton, Tex.

Application April 17, 1956, Serial No. 578,607

4 Claims. (Cl. 137-400) This invention generally relates to a ush tank valve and more specifically provides a ilush tank valve which operates in the usual manner when the water levels in the ush tank are normal but which operates to come pletely close off the inlet water pipe when the water level in the tank becomes abnormal.

In the construction of ush tanks, a float operated valve is normally employed for the inlet pipe wherein the valve is responsive to the water level in the tank. However, these valves become inoperative, leaky or otherwise ineffective whereby the water may continue coming into the llush tank after the iloat has moved to its uppermost position thereby causing water to overflow onto the oor of the bathroom thereby causing damage to this portion of the building. In other instances, the ball valve in the bottom of the ush tank may become stuck yopen or may improperly seat thereby permitting water to continue to be discharged into the toilet bowl.l

This will result in a waste of a relatively large quantity of water since the water will continue flowing until such time as the force of water is cut ol and necessary repairs made to the llush tank mechanism. In View of the above mentioned and other problems incidental to the proper operation of the flush tank valve, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a ilush tank valve which will Ioperate in the usual manner when the water levels in the flush tank are normal but which will operate to etectively close the inlet pipe with a normally inoperative valve member when the water levels in the ilush tank go below a predetermined bottom level or above a predetermined top level thereby eliminating wastage of the water and possible damage caused by overflow thereof.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a flush tank valve including a novel float controlled ball valve which will assure proper seating of the ball valve when the water has reached a predetermined lower level thereby retaining a certain amount of water in the tank at all times and reducing the quantity of water used for each lushing operation.

Other objects of the present invention will reside in its simplicity of construction, ease of assembly, ease of installation in existing flush tanks and its relatively inexpensive manufacturing cost.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, vreference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, where-I in like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a flush tank employing the flush tank valve of the present invention with portions thereof being shown in elevation and portions in section for clarity of illustration;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 illustrating the lower position of the iloat operated arm;

Figure 3 is a detailed sectional view of the flush tank arent 2,883,262 Patented Aug. 20, 1 957 valve of the present invention with the lower valve member in operative position;

Figure 4 is a detailed sectional view of the valve member illustrating the tubular valve stem and the construction of the valve heads as well as the extension on the stem;

Figure 5 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 5-5 of Figure l illustrating the mounting construction for the oat guide on the ball valve; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the float mounted o the ball valve.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the ilush tank valve of the present invention for installation in a conventional Hush tank having a bottom 12 and the usual walls 14 and removable top i6. A water inlet pipe 18 extends through the bottom 12 and is secured thereto by the usual clamp nuts and seals 20 and the inlet pipe 18 is connected to a suit-able water supply which provides water under pressure to the flush tank.

The upper end of the inlet pipe 18 is provided with an outwardly ared frusto-conical portion 22 terminating in a horizontal flange 24. The horizontal flange 24 is in abutting engagement with the horizontal flange 26 on the lower end of a bell-shaped portion 28 of an elongated tubular member 30 which also has an outwardly flared frusto-eonical upper end 32 which is in opposition to the bell shaped or truste-conical lower portion 28. The flanges 24 and 26 are secured together by fastening i members 34 which perm-it the tubular member 30 to be removed for replacement or repair as desired. The inner surface of the truste-conical member 32 forms a valvev seat 36 while the inner surface of the lower portion 28 also forms a lower valve seat 38.

Movably disposed within the tubular member 30 is an elongated valve generally designated by the numeral 40 and including an elongated tubular valve stem 42 having a plurality of openings 44 adjacent the upper and lower end thereof and provided with closure members 46 at the upper 4and lower end thereof.

Each of the closure members 46 is provided with a longitudinally extending stud 48 having a threaded portion 50 for receiving a generally frusto-conical valve face member 52 and an abutment washer 54 which is secured in place by a nut 56. As will be specifically illustrated in Figure 4, the nut 54 on the upper end of the valve stem 42 is in the form of a c-ap nut and is provided with a generally semi-spherical upper end 55 wherein the upper end 55 extends longitudinally from the valve member 40.

The valve face members 52 are adapted to engage the valve seats 36 and 38 respectively for sealing the tubular member 30 from the interior of the ush tank.

Extending upwardly from one side of the tubular member 30 is a bracket arm 58 having a lever 60 pivotally attached thereto by pivot pins 62 wherein the lever 60 is in the form of a ilat spring and overlies and engages the rounded end 56 of the upper nut 54 which forms an extension for the valve stem 42. The free end of the lever 60 terminates in spaced relation to the tubular member 30 and is engaged by a contact member 64 ou `one end of an elongated arm 66 having a float 68 on the other end thereof. The float arm 66 is pivotally( mounted by, pivot pin 70 on an upstanding bracket 72 disposed di-` ametrically opposite t-o the bracket 58 on the tubular member 30 whereby the pivot pin 70 is adjacent to the contact member 64 and remote from the float member 68 which is disposed for movement with the water level in the flush tank.

The bottom of the ilush tank is provided with the usual drain opening 74 having a valve seat 76 with a ball valve 78 disposed thereon wherein the ball valve 78 is provided with a lift wire 80 attached to a lift ann 82 for movement by the conventional operating handle 84. A tubular float guide 86 is mounted in a clamp bracket 88 which is clamped to the overflow pipe 90 which is .found in conventional flush tanks. The tubular float guide S6 depends in surrounding relationship to the lift wire 80 and terminates above the ball valve 78. A generally cylindrical float member 92 having a sleeve 94 slidably engaged with the float guide 86 is slidably disposed on the guide 86 for selectively engaging the ball valve 78 for urging the ball valve 78 into seating engagement with the valve seat 76 thereby assuring that a predetermined level of water will be retained in the flush tank at all times. Normally, the water will drain to the level of the valve seat 76. However, with the additional weight of the float member 92 which is unsupported since it moves down with the water level will urge the valve member 78 into seating engagement when the water level has reached substantially the lower edge of the float member 92 substantially as illustrated by dotted line in Figure 2. This operation will assure approximately 31/2 inches of water in the ilush tank at all times and reduce the quantity of water employed for each flushing operation. In the event the ball valve does not properly seat, the oat 68 will move below its normal position as shown in dotted line in Figure 2 wherein the normal position is shown in full line which movement below its normal position will cause the contact member 64 to move upwardly and permit the lever 60 to move upwardly whereby the force of incoming water will move the lower valve member 52 into engagement with the lower valve seat 38 thereby closing the water inlet until such time as suitable repairs are made to the Hush ball valve. In the event the upper valve member 52 does not operate in the proper manner and water moves to an overflowing position substantially as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 1, the free end of the lever 60 will be flexed downwardly until the contact member 64 passes over the free end thereof whereby the lever 60 will move upwardly thereby permitting the force of incoming water to close the lower valve 52. The valve stem 42 is substantially the same size and lits closely within the tubular member 32 whereby all of the water entering the ush tank will pass through the apertures 44 and through the tubular stem 42 thereby assuring proper closing action of the valve members in the event the water in the flush tank reaches an abnormal level. As will be illustrated by the full line positions in Figures 1 and 2, the upper valve member operates in a conventional manner as long as the water levels are normal.

The foregoingis considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A ilush tank valve comprising an upstanding inlet pipe in the bottom of a ush tank, an enlarged tubular member having a bell-shaped lower end forming a juncture with the inlet pipe, a valve seat formed at each end of the tubular member, a tubular valve stem disposed in said tubular member and a valve and a valve member at each end of said stem for selective engagement with said valve seats, said valve stem having openings adjacent each end thereof inwardly of the valve members to permit ow of water through the tubular member when both valve members are disposed in spaced relation to thc valve seats, an extension on the upper end of the tubular valve stem, and a float operated lever means for moving said valve stem longitudinally for opening and closing the upper valve member in normal operation of the ilush tank and automatically closing the lower valve member if the water in the ush tank overflows or reaches a predetermined low level, said lever means including a pivotally mounted lever of resilient material engaging the upper end of the extension on the valve stem, said lever having a free end, an elongated arm having a float on one end thereof and a lever contact member on the other end thereof, means mounting the arm for pivotal movement about an axis adjacent the free end of the lever, said arm raising and lowering the valve stem for moving the upper valve member selectively into contact with the upper valve seat during movement of the float between the normal upper and lower water level of water in the tank, said arm moving the lever contact member away from the free end of the lever when the water level drops below a predetermined low level whereby the force of incoming water will urge the valve members and stem upwardly thereby preventing wastage of water, said arm moving the lever contact member downwardly when the oat and water levels move above a predetermined level whereby the free end -of the lever is flexed downwardly until the contact member is moved past the free end of the lever thereby the force of incoming water to close the lower valve member to prevent overflowing of the flush tank.

2. A flush tank valve comprising a vertical water inlet pipe in the bottom of a flush tank, a vertical valve stem in said pipe having a pair of upper and lower valve members thereon, a pair of upper and lower valve seats in said pipe for said upper `and lower valve members, said stem being upwardly movable by water pressure in the pipe below the valve members to seat said lower valve member and being downwardly movable in opposition to water pressure in said pipe to seat said upper valve member, whereby to close said pipe in either direction of movement of said stem, and float operative lever means for moving said stem downwardly in response to rise of water in the tank to a given level comprising a stem engaging pivoted lever downwardly movable, and a member engaging and moving said lever and disengaged therefrom in response to rise of water in said tank above said given level.

3. The combination of claim 2, said lever being rcsilient and said member wiping past said lever to disengage the same.

4. The combination of claim 2 wherein the flush tank is provided with a discharge valve ball having a lifting wire thereon for attachment to an operating handle, and a oat member encircling said wire and downwardly slidable thereon against said valve ball for urging the ball valve into seating engagement with a valve ball seat thereby retaining a predetermined level of water in the tanl: when the tank is emptied when flushing a toilet bowl.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 909,789 Hawks Jan. 12, 1909 1,149,722 Hardt Aug. 10, 1915 1,359,593 Buckley Nov. 23, 1920 2,747,198 Clapp May 29, 1956 

